The OnePlus 2 could don a full-metal body

Leaked render suggests plastic has been ditched

We're just weeks away from learning what OnePlus has in store for its next flagship smartphone, but lucky for us, an image of the handset with an all-metal casing has leaked.

Yep, from the looks of it OnePlus has waved buh-bye to plastic and welcomed metal with open arms. The leaked render – which was posted to Chinese social media site Weibo – shows what's believed to be the upcoming OnePlus 2 with a full-metal body.

The OnePlus One sequel appears to be going for a more premium feel this time around, looking like a cross between an iPhone 6 and HTC One M9. If OnePlus can improve the design, include decent features and slap on a reasonable price tag, then it could very well be the handset to beat.

Of course, it's impossible for us to say whether the image is genuine or not, as it could have easily been knocked up by a Photoshop whizz in no time. However the metal chassis does support hints dropped by OnePlus CEO Liu Zuohu that the next-gen flagship will rock something more substantial.

Fortunately we don't have to wait long to find out, as the OnePlus has already confirmed the OnePlus 2 launch event takes place on July 27. It won't be any ordinary shindig either. The handset will be unveiled via a virtual reality stream that anyone can tune into.

The company has even been handing out free Google Cardboard headsets so fans of the brand can follow the action. They've been given out thick and fast, though, and are now out of stock.

While we don't have too much on specs, we've already told that the OnePlus 2 will feature a fingerprint scanner anda USB-C port, as well as a reworkedSnapdragon 810 chip. The bar was set unexpectedly high by the OnePlus One, so we're certainly intrigued to see if the Chinese manufacturer can conjure something just as impressive this time around.